Geoff Parker: Water Rights Should Belong To All New Zealanders — Not A Select Few

The latest High Court case by the Wai Mana Whenua group is being promoted as a fight for Māori “rights and interests” in freshwater. But beneath the legal language lies a much bigger question — who ultimately controls New Zealand’s water?

The group insists this is “not about ownership,” yet their own court documents ask for decision-making powers and potential charges or rentals for water use. In plain terms, that means creating a parallel system where an unelected tribal authority could decide who gets access to water — and at what cost.

Let’s be clear: water is a public resource. It should be managed for the benefit of all New Zealanders, not carved up through Treaty-based arrangements that risk embedding permanent commercial advantages for select groups.

We all want clean rivers and fair access to water. But control of water allocation must remain in the hands of accountable, democratic institutions — not private tribal bodies with vested interests. The moment water becomes a commodity to “clip the ticket”, ordinary farmers, households, and businesses will pay the price.

The Government must stand firm. Stewardship of our most essential resource should stay where it belongs — with the people of New Zealand as a whole.



References:
The New Zealand Herald: “Māori group takes freshwater rights fight to court in landmark case against Crown” 

PM Declares ‘No One Owns Water’ as Māori Landowners Sue Crown Over Broken 

Michael Laws talks to Kingi Smiler about iwi legal action on water.

Landmark Māori freshwater rights case in court this week.

Iwi Chairs United on Freshwater Rights and Interests

Tribes Plan For $1b Plus Water Ownership (2015) - Mike Butler

Iwi claim challenges parliamentary sovereignty, Crown says

Geoff Parker is a passionate advocate for equal rights and a colour blind society.